The present invention addresses certain problems, including the problem of “tabbing” occurring during use of a paper towel dispenser. Tabbing occurs when a piece of towel tears off the sheet when a user grasps and pulls the paper. Tabbing may occur with one or two hand pulls and with wet or dry hands. Papers that absorb water at the greatest rate are most likely to tab. The rate of water absorbency varies by paper manufacturer and grade. Premium grade papers tend to absorb water the quickest and are generally harder to cut which leads to a higher rate of tabbing.
It has been found that tabbing occurs when overspin slack is taken up and/or when a blade on the dispenser is utilized to cut the paper. A “shock” is present at the moment the overspin slack is exhausted. The shock occurs because the stationary roll towel must begin rotating at the moment that the overspin slack is exhausted. The shock is greatest with full rolls and diminishes as the roll is exhausted.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,500,420, issued Mar. 10, 2009, discloses an approach for addressing the “tabbing” problem. More particularly, the device shown therein dampen the shock through the utilization of shock absorbing nip rollers incorporated in the mechanism.
Other devices are used to control overspin rather than dampen the shock so as to avoid the conditions that create the overspin shock forces; however these devices are expensive and increase the average pull force required to dispense the toweling.
The following patent documents are believed to be representative of the current state of the art in this field: U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,879, issued Apr. 29, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,751, issued Feb. 3, 2004, U.S. Pat. No. 8,424,431, issued Apr. 23, 2013, U.S. Pat. No. 8,899,508, issued Dec. 2, 2014, U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,033, issued Jan. 7, 1992, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US 2009/0039099, published Feb. 12, 2009 and U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US 2016/0157682, published Jun. 9, 2016.